N and N's New Adventure: Day 3: New York City

May 28,2012

Morning------
Breakfast at the hotel was included in the rate, so considering the costs of food in NYC, it looked like a great breakfast. It really was a good breakfast. Back to our room to wait for Bonnie and Jan to get ready.

Empire State Building
We walked the approximately six blocks (from 28th Street to 34th) to the Empire State Building. The lines were long, and we got to do the people maze with the purple ropes. We paid our $20.00 each, senior rate, and continued to the next que for the elevator to the 80th floor. Then we had to hurry to get in the next line for the 86th floor observation deck. Visibility was five miles...a rather hazy five miles, but apparently a pretty clear day for the city. With several hundred other people, we checked out NYC from all directions. I watched a father with his daughter on his shoulders arguing with the guards about the kid being on his shoulders and all of the rules which he did not like. After he was given the choice of complying or leaving, the kid came down. It doesn't take nearly as long to go down as it does up....using the elevators, of course. To get out you have to go through the photo shop where they want you to buy the picture that was taken on the way up. The crowd is also routed through the gift shop. We did not buy anything .... No more to carry.

Break time
I include this just to remind us that fast food restaurants are generally not air conditioned. A large Coke cost us a grand $2.75. With an abundance of ice. However, the place had a bathroom.

Times Square....we have arrived
We continued our walk to Times Square. The temperature was 90* and humid. We went to the M and M store and had a great time looking at stuff. It was amazing watching people fill the bags with all different colors of candy. One young girl must have had 3 or more pounds in her bag. Grandma's face did not have a big smile when saw it. I think she had finally read the cost---$12.95 per pound. The Hershey store across the street beckoned. Alas, poor Yorik, there were no dark chocolate KitKat bars. Therefore we bought no chocolate.

Lunch
Neil saw a place for lunch....build your own burger. A restaurant designed just for him. The choices included meat, bun, cheeses,toppings and sauces. The fries, which were a side order were more than enough for two.

The Great Trek Back
We went back along the diagonal street......Broadway. I wanted to see inside the flagship Macy's store just because I could. The first thing I saw was a $425.00 purse. It certainly was not that pretty. I only know one person who would spend that kind of money on a purse. The Macy's store was extremely crowded...so crowded that it was not any fun, so we left in order to reduce the crowd by four.

Onward....
Finally, we made our way back to the hotel and nice air conditioning where our primary purpose was to cool off and rest our feet.
We went to Gigi's for a light dinner and then back to our hotel for the night. The last duty of the day for me was to arrange the hire car...an SUV big enough for 4 people and enough luggage to choke a horse...seriously.
Steps: 15,202